Indian Railway Employees Will Soon Get New Uniforms Designed By Ritu Beri

Indian Railway staff will soon get a modern uniform designed by fashion designer Ritu Beri. Around five lakh employees – front office staff, train ticket examiners (TTEs), guards, drivers and catering personnel will get a stylish makeover with the new uniforms that are created by the theme of Indian culture.

Five days ago Ms Ritu Beri presented four different sets of uniform to the Railway Ministry. A unique texture creates each set of the uniform. Within a less time Railways will unveil an initiative on social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and the ministry’s official website to follow the views of people in finalising the design for uniforms.

Out of thirteen lakh Railway employees, five lakh will get their new uniforms in the first phase which would cost about Rs. 50 crore. The new uniforms will also be issued to on-board staff, station masters and gangmen. Reports say that the new attires will also be given to Technical staff in workshops and production units.

Ritu stated that the new uniforms will be an ode to India and her exoticism “The focus is to reflect modern India while respecting our deep-rooted tradition and culture, thus reflecting the glory of India. The uniforms will be Indo-Western in cut and silhouette with comfort being the most important factor,” she added.

A senior railway official who is engaged in this project said that the idea behind the proposal of changing uniform is to bring a sense of pride and belonging in the rail staff who render their services to around two crores public every day. According to the official, the new uniforms are expected to be ready by the end of 2016. Ritu Beri’s new collection includes sarees and T-shirts.

Well, one among the four design options submitted by the Beri is based on tribal art, “Ethos of India.” Second design other is inspired by rustic coins and currency of the “The golden period,” of India. The third model is developed around the legacy of Nawabs. And finally, the fourth set is inspired by the Indian pop art that uses “brightest of colour palette.” The fourth option, classified as a vibrant soul of India is an intermix of culture, business, music and entertainment elements. “The work is in progress. For now, we have made the first presentation. We will work with khadi … I wish to retain our traditional look but give it a modern twist in keeping with the times,” stated Ms Beri.